Perhaps one thing we can all agree upon is that Zangeki no Reginleiv NEEDS a worldwide release! PRONTO!!

I had forgotten all about that. I remember it was quite heavily rumoured to be having a PAL release in mid-late 2010 under the name 'Dynamic Slash'. The problem is that it is a niche, low-medium profile Japanese action game, which don't have the best record for NA/PAL localisations; I still personally believe that the only reason Pandora's Tower saw a release outside of Japan was due to NoE wanting good press/preventing bad press at the time of Operation Rainfall last year. That said, it would be good if NoA and E would pick it up, it would make a good post-WiiU release, in the same way NoE localised Solatorobo and the first 2 Inazuma Eleven games for the DS after the 3DS launched.

Oh wow! Never heard of this game. Now I want this , New Fatal Frame, and Earth Seeker.

Project X Zone – New characters bring the running total to 32

The latest issue of Famitsu has announced six new characters due to feature in Project X Zone, which we reckon is going to be one of the best games this year. Most of the new faces are representing Team Capcom, with Frank West from Dead Rising, Alisa and Soma from God Hand and Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers confirmed. Leanne and Zephyr from Sega’s Resonance Of Fate are also now in there. If you’re not up to speed, Project X Zone is a strategy RPG that combines characters from Sega, Capcom and Namco Bandai franchises in one huge adventure. So far the complete list of characters announced are as follows:

15 Nintendo facts (we never want to hear again)

There are some facts we never get bored of hearing. ‘A bird’s feathers weigh more than its skeleton’, for example, or ‘the average person accidentally eats 430 bugs a year’. But there are some Nintendo-related facts that get trotted out so regularly – by bored hacks or drunk mates – that we’d be quite happy to never hear them again. The facts are these…

NINTENDO BEGAN LIFE AS A HANAFUDA COMPANY IN 1889

People spout this one off all the time, but whenever we ask them what ‘hanafuda’ is, they stare into the middle distance and make a guttural noise that sounds like a goose being ground up in the gears of an industrial machine. If you’re going to repeat this card game FACT, you need to also have a follow-up hanafuda FACT, such as ‘hanafuda was banned in Japan in 1791, during the Kansei era’. And then hope they don’t ask you any awkward questions about the Kansei era. Shame we don’t have any Kansei era FACTS, eh?

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, NINTENDO MEANS ‘LEAVE LUCK TO HEAVEN’

Yeah, right. Can anyone here speak enough Japanese to verify this? We reckon it could be a linguistic rib, like the time Team Nintendo Gamer went to France and we made Matthew wear a T-shirt that read ‘J’aime le poo-poo-poo dans ma bouche-bouche-bouche’. In truth, the word Nintendo probably translates as ‘Pull my finger, receive a surprise’, a company motto that president Satoru Iwata is intent on taking to its terrifying conclusion.

MARIO USED TO BE CALLED ‘JUMPMAN’

Oh man. We hope you never find out about the whole Opal Fruits/Starburst thing, otherwise the NHS’s £65 million mortgage debt will be dwarfed in comparison to the vast amount of resources and man hours it’ll take for them to resuscitate you. Yes, Mario used to be called Jumpman, and before that Mr Video, until some wag at Nintendo noticed that he looked a bit like the company’s landlord, Mario Segale. The name stuck.

SUPER MARIO BROS 2 ISN’T A REAL MARIO GAME

*Sigh* Surely everyone knows this one by now? It should be made a crime against obviousness to mention it. Once more for the record: since the original Super Mario Bros 2 (which can be found on Virtual Console as The Lost Levels) was considered too difficult for feeble western thumbs, Nintendo re-skinned Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, an obscure Arabian-themed platformer of dubious worth, and sold it under the Mario banner. Ironically, nowadays many developers tone down the difficulty levels for Japanese audiences. Who’s got the crappy thumbs now, eh?

SHIGERU MIYAMOTO CYCLES TO WORK EVERY DAY

The only reason he does this is because his car boot is crammed with decapitated cat bodies. Er, is that libellous? [Oh god, yes. How does your website still exist? – Corporate Overlord Legal Department]. Uh, in that case, what we mean is Shigeru Miyamoto bicycles to work every morning because he doesn’t have a car, and we never tire of hearing that fact.

THE BUSHES IN SUPER MARIO BROS ARE GREEN CLOUD SPRITES

A fun fact this, and one that shows the memory constraints developers once had to work with, but there’s only so many times we need to be told. To create the bushes in Super Mario Bros, the devs recoloured the top half of the cloud sprites and recycled them as shrubbery. Now we all know, it doesn’t need repeating.

GUNPEI YOKOI, CREATOR OF THE GAME BOY, DIED IN A ROAD ACCIDENT

You’ve got to feel sorry for Gunpei Yokoi. One of Ninty’s greats, his name should be spoken in the same hushed tones as Shigsy’s. Instead, all we ever hear is how he died after being hit by a car, with maybe a side anecdote about how he had to quit Nintendo after the failure of the Virtual Boy. Um, like in this feature.

Nintendo Dominates UK's All-Time Top 10

Trade and industry magazine MCV has posted a top ten of the biggest-selling single SKUs of all time, and Nintendo's on top.

An SKU is a "stock-keeping unit" — a product with a unique barcode — and is used to separate the same game on multiple formats. MCV's list looks at the biggest-selling SKUs in UK history, with no fewer than seven Nintendo titles in the mix.

Nintendo titles also top the revenue chart, with Wii Fit raking in £110m, ahead of Mario Kart Wii's £97m. Both figures only include the software's value, ignoring the value of the included accessory. With £66m, Brain Training has made more money than Call of Duty: Black Ops on PS3.

Statisticians and number fans are well served at MCV, with an eyebrow-raising graph of Wii accessory sales too.

Club Nintendo Offers Mystery Boxes

Desperate to spend your Club Nintendo coins but just don't know what to spend them on? Let Nintendo help you out, with a series of Mario "Surprise Me" boxes for 300 coins.

The box contents are secret, but Nintendo claim you'll get at least two surprises with a combined worth of over 500 coins.

While the website shows the mystery boxes in classic ? Mark blocks, they'll turn up at your door in standard postal packaging, which is a little disappointing. Oh, and items may not be returned, so make sure you'll be happy accepting something unknown before you shell out.

Don't forget that next week sees Club Nintendo updated with new games to download, in case you feel like saving your coins.

Interview: Shinesparkers - Celebrating Metroid with Music

Recently we became aware of Harmony of a Hunter, a two-disc album of fan-produced Metroid music that covers the history of the franchise: it's available for free from this download page. It's a project from Metroid fan-site shinesparkers.net, and a follow-up album called Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run is on the way. We spoke to Harmony of a Hunter director Darren Kerwin and assistant director Torbjørn 'Falcool' Brandrud to discuss the albums and a love of all things Metroid.

Nintendo Life: Can you tell us about the origins of Shinesparkers, and how the Harmony of a Hunter project evolved from that?

Darren Kerwin: Shinesparkers is a Metroid fan website dedicated to bringing up to date news and exclusive content such as interviews and features. We're always looking for new ways to contribute to the passionate fan base that Metroid has. I've been a long time fan of the series, and one of my favourite aspects is the music. With the 25th anniversary of Metroid approaching and no signs of Nintendo putting anything in place to mark that notable milestone, I felt it was important that Shinesparkers do something to mark the anniversary.

We put together a two disc album featuring 36 tracks from 24 artists and groups, covering music from the very first Metroid game on NES to the most recent, Other M on Wii. The music was approached with a variety of different genres and offered a diverse musical experience. Harmony of a Hunter was a tribute to our favourite video game series, one that encouraged many musicians with varied levels of experience to get involved and pay homage to a great series and mark an anniversary that Nintendo was unable to provide. Due to the feedback we received from fans of the album, we decided to put together an expansion called Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run which will include new tracks by musicians from the original project, as well as new artists. This time around, I have enlisted the help and support of an assistant director, Torbjørn 'Falcool' Brandrud to help with the project.

NL: It's an album with an extensive range of contributors: how did these artists get involved?

With the 25th anniversary of Metroid approaching and no signs of Nintendo putting anything in place to mark that notable milestone, I felt it was important that Shinesparkers do something to mark the anniversary.

Torbjørn 'Falcool' Brandrud: You contacted them yourself, right Darren?

Darren: When we started the project originally, we set up a thread on Overclocked Remix to see if there was anyone that would be interested in getting on board with an album to mark the 25th anniversary of Metroid. When I saw that people were interested in my suggestion and wanted to get on board, I felt encouraged to source musicians from a variety of places such as YouTube, Newgrounds and the internet searching through online portfolios. I even approached musicians who I had been a fan of for years, expressing how much I loved their work and if they would be interested in getting involved with the project. I am amazed at how many people were willing to get on board.

NL: Can you outline how the 101% Run project has been co-ordinated, such as receiving submissions and organising a tracklist?

Falcool: For this expansion, we looked at tracks that had not been covered in the original, or tracks that we thought were in need of a new cover.

Darren: That’s correct, there were a few reasons for this, such as musicians having other commitments and dropping from the project or simply unable to finish a track before deadline. We wanted to ensure that some of these notable themes would be heard. We first approached artists who had contributed to the previous album to see if they would be interested in getting involved again. We then decided to source out new artists who could offer something special or a little different that we hadn’t heard before. We also got a lot of feedback and suggestions from the fans on what they wanted to hear, and we took this into consideration when compiling the tracklist for 101% Run.

NL: When you have established the play order and the artists have submitted the tracks, how much editing/arrangement work is required, and how involved are the artists themselves in that process?

Falcool: I believe the editing is the work of he who mastered the first album, right Darren? And that it’ll be the same on this expansion?

Darren: Yes, when artists completed their tracks for Harmony of a Hunter, they were asked to send over an uncompressed raw audio file of their track under the specifications outlined by Lee “The Orichalcon” Barber, who mastered the project for us, and will be doing so again this time. Before a track was submitted as final, I would listen through the track to see if there were any issues and once again after I'd received the file. Once we gathered all of the music, I worked with Lee for a couple of weeks to decide the ordering of the album. Each track “blends” into another, and it was important that those transitions made sense. The majority of this work was down to Lee, I merely contributed my suggestions and input to him, which he then took into consideration.

Once the album was completed, we sent out an early copy to certain individuals to offer feedback on. After we listened to the album a couple of times and were happy with it, Lee compressed it ready for download. I have to thank Lee for his help with this vitally important stage of the project, he came into the project just a few weeks before we planned to release it due to a lack of contact from the person we had originally appointed to master. Without him, we wouldn’t have had an album that sounded anywhere near as good.

NL: Which Metroid song was the most rewarding to rearrange in the original album?

A source of inspiration

Darren: That’s a very difficult question. Due to the amount of variety the album offers, each theme was approached differently, sometimes not as people would have expected. For me personally, the most rewarding song to hear was Into the Green World (Brinstar Vegetation, Super Metroid) by Sam Dillard. He approached it in a cinematic orchestrated style that, in my opinion, matches the greatness of the original theme.

Falcool: My favourite song from the first album is definitely Solitude from Zircon and C-GPO, who did an amazing job. As for the expansion, my favourite arrangement I’ve worked on so far is probably the Secrets of the Chozo track from Stephan Wells, with his Metroid Prime Menu theme remix coming up as a second.

NL: Which Metroid game has the best soundtrack on its own, prior to any remixing?

Darren: I feel Super Metroid’s soundtrack was ambient, atmospheric and even a little haunting. It impresses me a lot considering that I started the series with Metroid Prime and went back to play Super Metroid, only to find that I was getting the same high standard of experience musically that I would have expected from a game made years later. I feel that Super Metroid also has some of the most well known and well loved pieces of music from the Metroid series and video game music in general.

NL: The project was undertaken to celebrate 25 years for the series. After big celebrations of Mario and The Legend of Zelda, what did you make of the low key (maybe even non-existent) Metroid celebrations from Nintendo itself?

Falcool: I think it’s mostly because of the reception Other M received, which is a big shame. If it had been right after Metroid Prime 3, I think it would’ve been different. I also think it was because the Zelda celebration happened the same year. I really wish Nintendo had put a little effort into it though.

I feel that Super Metroid also has some of the most well known and well loved pieces of music from the Metroid series and video game music in general.

Darren: I disagree with Falcool that Metroid: Other M was the reason why Nintendo decided not to mark its anniversary, the series is much bigger than just one game. But, I was disappointed that Nintendo had shown no interest or given any mention to Metroid’s 25th anniversary, except for a message from the NOA Twitter account. However I understand that Nintendo was most probably focusing all of their attention on the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. Since the anniversary fell in August 2011, I felt there might be hope in 2012 for an anniversary mention. Sadly, Nintendo have decided to give Kirby a special 20th anniversary celebration, which left me feeling incredibly disappointed. Although Kirby is a great franchise, I feel that Metroid was more deserving.

NL: Aside from Metroid, are there any other game soundtracks that you particularly enjoy? And would you like to work on it one day?

Darren: I have a lot of respect for video game music in general, I feel it’s a core element of making a title special. From the top of my head, I’d say the soundtracks of Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda series and Mass Effect. Most recently, Kid Icarus: Uprising has impressed me, I consider it one of the best soundtracks from Nintendo.

Falcool: All of the Zelda games probably, Okami, a couple of Mario games and many other Nintendo titles. Really, there are tons of awesome Nintendo soundtracks.

NL: Can you both pick your favourite Metroid game? Just one please!

Darren: Wow, well if I can only choose one, it’s going to have to be Metroid Prime. It’s the game I started with, the game that inspired me to experience more games and secured my love for the Metroid franchise. I owe a lot to that game.

NL: In the future, would you like to see more games in the 2D style, or is the Prime approach more to your liking?

What's next for Samus?

*Darren: As much as I adore the Metroid Prime trilogy, I feel that it’s time that Nintendo went back to the 2D side-scrolling games for the 3DS, and continued the Metroid story after Metroid Fusion. If we were to get another First Person Adventure game, I feel that they should move away from the Prime series and start a completely new story for the Wii U, with a new title and a new threat. I could see them doing something just prior to Metroid II to explain why the Metroids are such a galactic threat and why they had to be destroyed.

Falcool: I’d like to see more Prime, but preferably more 2D Metroid on the 3DS and Prime on the Wii U. Anything Metroid would be great right now.

NL: If you could choose your dream Metroid experience for the next title, what style would it follow and on what platform?

Falcool: A new Metroid game on the Wii U with the Metroid Prime style gameplay, a massive world and an amazing soundtrack.

Darren: It would be a 2D side scroller in a three dimensional environment, an experience like Metroid Prime but with the feel of Super Metroid. Basically, Super Metroid in the style of Shadow Complex!

Guide: Nintendo 3DS System Update v. 4.0.0-7

As you probably already know, the latest 3DS system update is available, bringing your machine up to version 4.0.0-7.

We've put together a list of what's new in this update. If you find anything we haven't covered, post it in the comments below and we'll update this guide.

Ability to add folders

Probably the biggest new feature, this lets you organise your Home Menu with folders. Here's how they work.

Select an unoccupied tile and select "Create Folder".

Tap "Edit Settings" if you want to name your folder, but remember: only the first letter shows up on its Home Menu icon. The full name appears on the top screen when you tap the folder.

Press your stylus onto an icon for a second and you'll 'pick it up'.

Drag it over to the folder and take your stylus off the screen to 'drop' the icon into the folder.

That's pretty much all there is to it. You can't put folders inside other folders, so don't try to nest them.

eShop Revamp

The other most noticeable improvement is to the eShop. Here's what's new:

New layout — now split into two rows, the bottom is for easy access to 3DS Download Software, 3DS Virtual Console, DSiWare and 3DS Demos, while the top row is for the usual curated list and 'themes'. The search bar is now at the top, too.

QR Code option — the 3DS has been able to scan QR codes for ever, but now the eShop gives you a bespoke option. Tap this in the Settings/Other menu, scan a QR code and it'll open the relevant page in the eShop.

Ability to patch games

This is a big one. Nintendo has added the ability for games — both retail and download — to receive updates in the form of patches or free add-on content. Here's what will be available in future.

Mario Kart 7 will get an update to address glitches. This update will be released in May, so don't go looking for it now.

Nintendo is bringing over one more remodeled Gamecube game for the U.S. Wii, but what about all the games still waiting abroad?

There are many weird and wonderful Wii games that never made it to the United States. Zangeki no Regineiv, the on-rails retelling of Norse apocalypse myth Ragnarok; Disaster: Day of Crisis, the bizarre action game that had you surviving earthquakes and volcanic eruptions made by Monolithsoft before it finished Xenoblade Chronicles; or how about Captain Rainbow, the game where D-list Nintendo characters like Birdo and Crazy Tracy from Link’s Awakening needed a superhero to up their self-esteem.

Is Nintendo bringing any of them over to send off its last standard definition machine in a bizarre blaze of glory? Nah. It is bringing over New Play Control: Pikmin 2 though.

Originally released in Japan way back in the long, long ago of 2009, the Wii edition of Gamecube original Pikmin 2 added motion controls to the odd strategy game about a stranded spaceman and his plant-people servants. A New Play Control edition of the first Pikmin was released in the U.S. in 2009 but its sequel has been sitting on the shelf for three years.

The latest issue of Nintendo Power (via Nintendo Life) said that the Wii Pikmin 2 hits the U.S. this summer.

Nintendo no doubt wants to remind people that Pikmin exists before rolling out Pikmin 3 with the Wii U this fall. That’s all well good, but it’s a shame none of those aforementioned peculiar originals will make it to the U.S. before the Wii rides off into the sunse

Resident Evil Creator Reveals New Survival Horror Game

Shinji Mikami, the creator behind Resident Evil, has revealed his new game which is to be titled Zwei. The game is described as a survival horror title and will be developed for HD consoles. Mikami will serve as the game’s executive director, and is said to be “fully involved” in the project’s development. Hopefully we will see a glimpse of the game at E3.

Developers Say They’ve Seen TimeSplitters 4

Timesplitters 4 is apparently very real as a few select developers have seen the much-anticipated game up and running. Although the game is in development there’s always the chance that it may not be released. However, the developer says that if the game is released then we’re likely to see a rerelease of the previous three games in the series.

“Trusted OXM sources have claimed that they’ve seen TimeSplitters 4 running. That’s no guarantee that it’ll be released – at least one version of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 was cancelled without ever being announced – but it’s a promising sign.”

“If we do get a proper sequel, we’re likely to see the old games appear, too.”

The Wii's got a nasty SD problem

Upsetting Wii-union

For many, the standard definition graphics of the Nintendo Wii can be an ugly, disappointing turnoff — especially in an era of high definition televisions and eye-retina displays. In fact, if it wasn’t for television broadcasts — most of which now offer a high definition channel alternative — would any of us choose to watch or experience our media in blurry, undefined standard definition? Of course we wouldn’t. However, whenever we get the urge to blow off the dust and boot up our Nintendo Wii (and yes there is plenty of good reasons to do so Mr. heckler at the back), that’s exactly the predicament we end up in. Good old standard definition, oh how we haven’t missed you.

Nintendo’s decision not to provide the Wii with high definition capabilities has always been an obvious stigma, one which has gradually resulted in a massive technological chasm forming between the Wii and its more powerful rivals.

Obviously the Wii isn’t anywhere near as technically gifted as Microsoft and Sony’s consoles. In fact, I’m pretty confident that it can’t even perform any form of anti-aliasing which, for the less geeky among us, deals with those notorious “jaggies.” However, the technologically crippling decision not to include any form of HD goodness has grown more and more apparent as the years have rolled by.

iStrain

Let’s be bluntly honest about this. If you’ve played any one of the thousands of high definition games, or even a game off your iPhone in the last five years, returning to the Wii’s muddy textures and muted colours is a jarring, unpleasant experience to say the least. Yes, we all ran out and purchased the “component cable” — a cable which adds insult to injury as our other component cables are gateways to high definition visuals — but alas, our Wii games still look horrid.

I’m sure most of you have toiled away for hours, desperately searching for that magic television setting, only to realise that although our shiny LCDs are great with high-definition content, they’re almost useless at producing a pleasing SD picture. And suddenly, we end up returning to that million dollar question, “Why didn’t they make the Wii HD!?”

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Naturally, we’ve all come to appreciate that Nintendo astutely operates within their means, and to great financial success. However, with the current wave of HD remakes gracing the more powerful consoles, it begs the question as to how well the Wii would have fared had it been able to at least match this level of seemingly attainable quality. Gamers have lapped up Sony’s remakes of some of the PS2’s finest games with Capcom, Konami and Ubisoft all proving that with the right resolution, we’re more than happy to stomach less graphically impressive games.

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword looks remarkable considering the Wii’s almost prehistoric hardware, but can you imagine just how much better it would look with a boost in resolution? The already beautiful art style would be done justice, and the environments would benefit greatly from improved texture clarity. And what about Super Mario Galaxy? We can all agree that Galaxy is a masterpiece in visual design, but are you convinced you wouldn’t enjoy it even more in crystal clear HD? Wipe the drool from your mouth, I’m not finished. If a high definition version of Smash Bros Brawl was available, could people honestly say that they wouldn’t be interested due to the Wii’s lack of graphical prowess? If you answered no, then, quite frankly sir, you’re a dirty goomba.

Display Your Power

You see, when you truly think about the Wii’s dated hardware, the omission of shader models, anti-aliasing and other technical features, these design decisions are almost potentially moot. It’s the fact that Nintendo’s mini white box is trapped a whole definition behind everyone else (two if you consider 3D). Let’s not forget that from the NES to the PS2, television definitions have never really changed. Yes, the graphics improved but you never needed to specifically fork out for a new tele just to experience a dramatic upgrade. And that’s why when you hook up your SEGA Genesis for a game of Streets Of Rage, it looks just the same as it did then.

So, not only has the Wii had to compete with being the weakest guy at the gym, he’s also been wearing the baggiest clothes to hide what little muscle he has. Try playing your HD consoles in SD and you’ll soon see that resolution can almost matter as much as raw power in this day and age. Imagine if the PS3 wasn’t HD capable? Would Uncharted 3 still be the best looking game out there?

And that brings us nicely to the Wii U. Nobody knows exactly how powerful Nintendo’s next hardware will be. But what we do know is that the Nintendo Wii U will be in high definition, and, unless Sony or Microsoft plan on releasing their consoles in a better resolution than what we have now, suddenly, that technological gap isn’t as big as it once was.

Display capabilities are becoming more important than raw power. Even the latest iPad has improved its hardware, but what’s its main selling feature? Yes, it’s that beautiful eye-retina display. The Sony PSVita's screen drew in universal praise.

You can have all the power in the world, but if you can’t showcase it properly, then what’s the point?

Wii See U

If there’s one thing that will never change it's that Nintendo creates some of the finest games available, and it's likely that this trend will continue for their next home console. However, this time the competition isn’t a million miles away, at least not resolution wise, and soon enough, we’ll finally have a Zelda game in HD. Perhaps that was Nintendo’s plan all along, starve of us what we desired most so we eventually came crawling back when they deem we were worthy. Or maybe, they made a massive mistake not including HD in the first place. Without a doubt, it’s the latter.

If you’d like a glimpse of what the Nintendo Wii could have been like check out the Dolphin emulator which blesses Wii games with high definition visuals.